Vast Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  Raiza was examining the skeletons and taking readings, Silas examining what was left of the console. Everything suggested this shuttle was very old and of unique design, but its body was fairly well preserved.

  Ximon radioed, “Elsbeth, you and Peter please see if you can find anything behind any panels or see anything of the engines. Silas, let’s dig at this console and see what we can find.”

  After they had been digging for around fifteen minutes, Raiza said, “These skeletons are vaguely human in layout, but are not human. Several bone structures are different, the skulls are too elongated, and they’re generally too tall. I’m detecting large concentrations of the plague in the remnants of flesh. It’s quite possible the natives pried this open, exposed it to air, and immediately faced concentrated pathogens from the bodies and the particulates within. I’m going to take a few bones and some DNA samples.”

  Elsbeth noted, “The rear engine area is fairly smashed up and some external sections may have been ripped off when they landed or crashed. The back area may have been partially sealed by a sizable mountain of dirt and rock. In any case, from what we can see, it looks like this had some form of gravitic propulsion, possibly supplemented by more traditional thrusters. I’m going to see if we can get out a couple of small pieces.”

  Ximon and Silas managed to rip out a small section of the front console which they guessed had contained some control or computer components.

  Ximon noted, “This technology is very different from anything I’ve seen – strange layout, strange components. It looks like it’s been here a long time, but I think the technology level is fairly high.”

  Elsbeth answered, “I’d definitely agree. It’s worth hauling a few pieces.”

  They continued grunting and prying for a while and soon had several pieces. They examined these and selected a few small, but potentially interesting, pieces to take. By that time, Raiza was done getting what she needed.

  Ximon said, “Okay, I think that’s what we need. Let’s get out of here.”

  As they approached the exit, Raiza pointed at a narrow area. “Ximon, I think we should seal this cave if we can. Could we do something here to cause a cave-in?”

  “Not easily with what we have, and I wouldn’t want to try that from inside. We’ll see if we can shoot this cave from Mantis and effectively seal it.”

  “I recommend we do so. It would reduce the chance of anyone else being directly exposed to these pathogens.”

  They stumbled back down the hill to Mantis, decontaminated, and got out of their suits.

  Karacka-Go waited in the ship for them. “Sky Ones, may I ask what you found?”

  Ximon considered what to say before answering, “We found an ancient relic. We believe it is where the Shadow One lay until disturbed.”

  “I see. Now what will become of me?”

  “We have a few more places to go.”

  “As you say.”

  Ximon told the crew he was going to do low passes over a few areas, and they might visit one or two more. It’d be a few hours to fly there. Elsbeth and Peter went to begin examining what they had found, as did Raiza. Silas stopped in to visit both as they did so, wanting to ensure he was aware of any key discoveries.

  Ximon flew over a couple of ships out at sea. One showed signs of life and he just flew past that one. Another sizable ship seemed substantially damaged and showed no signs of life. Silas and Ximon were lowered down to it and carefully searched. There were far fewer bodies than one would expect on a ship this size and they were all dead. They recovered a few crude documents that appeared to be the captain’s log. This spoke of several crew members dying each day and being thrown overboard, problems as the crew grew too few, and more death. The last few entries were in a different hand -- the captain had apparently died.

  They surveyed several more cities in the other hemisphere. They all showed large burn areas, some destruction, and sparse activity or none. The plague had obviously been here too.

  Finally, they came to a small island in the far north, perhaps 80 kilometers across. This had but a few small settlements on it. They made several passes to watch for activity and saw quite a bit. They did not note any large burn areas. If they had the numbers of dead they’d seen elsewhere, these Ruda did something else with their bodies. It seemed that some of the natives saw Mantis and a few scurried about, but it didn’t cause mass panic.

  Ximon decided to test this. He landed Mantis in a flat field about 200 meters from one of the larger villages. He watched the natives as the ship landed. All looked up and a few seemed alarmed or confused, but most just stared. Ximon powered down the engines and the crew just watched for a few minutes as they got ready, not donning heavy protections this time.

  As the crew watched, several dozen of the natives — males, females, and children — moved toward Mantis in a group but stayed at least ten meters back. These all had somewhat thicker fur but also wore hide clothing and hats as the weather was quite cold.

  Ximon shrugged, a bit surprised at this response. “Okay, let’s see what happens.”

  He lowered the ramp and they moved out. This time the entire crew came, with Raiza and Karacka-Go in the lead.

  The natives looked up and waved their arms in greeting.

  A large female Ruda stepped forward, bowed her head in reverence and then looked up to meet Raiza’s eyes. “Greetings, Sky Ones. We welcome you to Nor-Repa and Nor-Ruda. I am Chieftess Morano-Nor-Ruda. How can we serve you?”

  Raiza took the lead but got prompts from Ximon and the others on her internal communicator. “Greetings, Chieftess and people of Nor-Repa and Nor-Ruda. We are pleased to see you well. We wish to speak with you.”

  “We are honored. May we speak at a feast in a few hours? Queen Sorreno-Nor-Ruda will be there and she would be honored to speak with you.”

  “That would be most welcome. Where will this feast be?”

  The Chieftess motioned with a short staff toward a long, low hall. “It will be in our main hall. I will send servants to escort you and bear you if you need.”

  Ximon wondered how that would work since it would certainly take several Ruda to carry any one of them.

  Raiza shook her head. “We will welcome the escort but need not be borne. We will await your escorts.”

  As discussed beforehand, Karacka-Go spoke up. “Chieftess, I am Karacka-Go of the Go-Ruda and have been charged to assist the Sky Ones. The Sky Ones ask that your learned one come speak to them while they await your servants for the feast.”

  The Chieftess didn’t look particularly pleased at this but did not object. “As the Sky Ones ask.” She then said something quietly to a Ruda near her and they ran swiftly off.

  She nodded in reverence to Raiza and the rest of the crew. “Sky Ones, my people and I must see to the feast. Our Wise One will arrive soon. Until then, Harato will stay with you.” She gently grabbed the arm of a young female who was standing nearby and nodded at her. The female looked initially shocked at being so tasked.

  The Chieftess and all her procession, save the young female turned and walked back toward the village. Some of the crew, likewise, headed back into the ship.

  The young female, Harato, was clearly nervous, but not visibly afraid. “Sky Ones, how can I serve you while we await the Wise One? Would you have me cook, clean, mend your clothing, or repair your nets?”

  Raiza smiled kindly at her and held out her hand. “No, Harato. But come with me. I wish to examine you.”

  Ximon, Silas, Karacka-Go, and Mantis’ telebot waited for the Wise One.

  Raiza took Harato to the medical bay, gave her some food, and had her sit. Raiza then gently gave her a medical examination, scanned her, and took some blood. Raiza explained all this in general terms as she did so. Harato bore all this with no complaint, but some nervousness and considerable interest.

  Raiza gave her a small penlight as a gift, which she found amazing. She and Raiza returned to the loading ramp as Ximon and the others were exchanging
greetings with the Wise One, Garaga. Harato bowed low to Raiza and the others and ran back to the village.

  They sat in the low grass at the bottom of the ramp and asked Garaga to explain the world around them. He was a bit confused at the request but started explaining. Karacka-Go translated when necessary. Garaga talked mainly about life on the island and about their expeditions to gather food, apparently fish and some other aquatic animals. He talked about the Chieftess, the Queen, and the other villages. He spoke with pride of the small amount of food they grew on the island, mainly some kind of tubers. Finally, he talked about the occasional visits from Ruda from other lands to trade but noted that these were not common and hadn’t happened for many months. There was no word of any sickness, the Shadow One, nor other troubles.

  When he was done, Ximon gave Garaga a brief tour of Mantis. The Wise One was most impressed and seemed interested in everything but was careful not to touch. Ximon and the others explained some things in basic terms but didn’t even try with others. They then thanked him for his wisdom and gave him a small flashlight. He tottered happily back to the village.

  Soon thereafter, four young females carrying flowers came to ramp, presented the flowers to the crew, and said the feast was prepared. The crew then followed them to the hall – a large, communal building with a low roof, but considerable room.

  As they entered, all occupants of the hall arose, including the Chieftess and a large, almost corpulent woman, who Ximon assumed must be the Queen as she was the center of attention and wore a large, flowered headdress. The Queen and Chieftess sat at a large table in the center of the room. Almost a hundred Ruda sat at tables surrounding theirs.

  The Queen spoke loudly and warmly. “Welcome, Sky Ones. We have gathered to honor you and listen to your guidance. Please, come and sit with us.”

  Attendants helped seat the crew as they approached. There were seats for the entire crew save Io, Euclidia, and Mantis’ telebot who stood nearby. This seemed to confuse the attendants, but Raiza explained that these three do not sit, but stand ready to assist.

  Raiza had briefed the Wise One on their seating precedence, so Ximon and Raiza sat next to the Queen, with Silas, Elsbeth, and Shao nearby.

  The Queen clapped her hands and dozens of young Ruda brought out trays of food, serving the crew, the Queen and Chieftess first. The meal consisted primarily of some pink, meaty substance that resembled fish and lesser amounts of something redder and denser. There were also several types of fruits or tubers in colors ranging from almost white to deep red. Finally, there were small bunches of green, leafy plants. Ximon wasn’t immediately sure if these latter were for eating, palate cleansing, or garnish so he followed the Queen’s lead as she chewed on them between courses.

  Ximon asked the Queen if she would tell them about her island. She happily explained, telling them some of the things that the Chieftess and Wise One had told them. She proudly explained how many baskets of various foods they had gathered and how many Ruda were in each village.

  By the time she had finished her discourse, the crew was largely done eating. The Queen then asked the Sky Ones to give the people their guidance or share their wisdom.

  Ximon stood to speak and Raiza translated. “Queen and people of Nor-Repa and Nor-Ruda, we have come from the sky to watch for troubles around this world. Sadly, we have seen much trouble. The Shadow One arose many months ago.”

  Some of the people hissed or looked shocked when the Shadow One was mentioned. “He attacked the bodies of those he encountered. Great is the sadness in many lands of the Ruda. We are glad that this sadness had not come here and pray it may never do so. It is our hope that you may ever reside in peace and joy. Be clean, be wise, take care of one another, and seek knowledge. After this great feast, we will speak to your Queen, Chieftess, Wise Ones, and Healers to tell them things to be aware of. Listen to them as they pass on this wisdom. We will also leave our friend Karacka-Go with you. Treat him well and listen to his knowledge of other lands.”

  The Queen seemed pleased that Ximon didn’t choose to say much more or go into disturbing issues. “Thank you for your guidance and for honoring us with your presence. We now have entertainment for you.” She again clapped her hands and other activities were prepared.

  As they did, Karacka-Go hobbled up and hugged Ximon and Raiza. “Thank you, Sky Ones, for bringing me to a place of rest.”

  First, several young females came out topless but dressed in skirts of bright orange and yellow. One stood and sang while the others danced slowly around her in a circle. The singing didn’t seem to contain words but was a haunting melody that got faster and faster. As it did, the other girls danced and spun faster, almost like dervishes at the end.

  This gave Ximon an idea and he had Mantis quickly get to work on it, reviewing video they had taken around the planet. Then Ximon turned his attention back to the performance.

  Next, several Ruda came out with different musical instruments — gourds, drums, and something like a tambourine. They played a song that started slow and mournful, but then sped up and got livelier at parts, until it ended with a slow, sad dirge at the end. Ximon thought the sound was somewhat cacophonous, but he could hear some melody in it.

  Finally, several Ruda came out in costumes of various colors and styles. Then acted out several scenes, quickly changing clothes in between. All the Ruda seemed to enjoy it so Ximon assumed these must be well-known scenes. Then, some strange creatures joined the scene, wearing elaborate costumes and bright colors. It took Ximon a while to realize that these creatures represented the crew of the Mantis, the Sky Ones. The scene was partly serious, but with some humor. Ximon found it humorous once he knew this was supposed to be them. Clearly, these Ruda didn’t take their deities overly seriously – they could have fun with them.

  All enjoyed this entertainment, and this was apparently the end. Ximon directed Mantis to prepare a scene. Ximon then told the Queen they had a brief presentation to make. Mantis projected a video on the wall. This briefly showed Mantis orbiting the planet and flying over some areas, being careful to avoid any scenes of death. Finally, the video showed them landing at Nor-Repa, the arrival of the welcoming party, and then some nearly live images of the feast. The Ruda were amazed and excited to see images of themselves. Many crowded close to the wall to see better.

  The Queen thanked them and the performers profusely and signaled the feast was over. The Ruda left in good cheer. As the hall was cleared, the Queen led them to a smaller meeting room. Here, they met with the Queen, Chieftess, and senior Wise One and Healer.

  The Queen began, “Now Sky Ones, please tell us what you did not wish to say to all our people.”

  Ximon motioned to Raiza to speak. She briefly explained about the plague starting in To-Ruda in the South, spreading rapidly, and causing a great deal of death. She said, “We pray that the Shadow One never comes here, but we fear one day that it might, brought by a ship returning from sea or a visiting ship. If it does, it will be a dark time.”

  She then explained some precautions to take with visiting ships and things to do if people did get sick. These things wouldn’t prevent the plague, but they might limit its spread.

  The Queen considered all this. “You have brought us heavy words, Sky Ones. We know that you would spare us if you could. We will heed your words and, if necessary, teach them to those who follow us.” She then stared pointedly at the Wise One and Healer. “Our people will not tell the others too soon and make their hearts heavy before they must.”

  Ximon said, “You are wise, Queen. We must depart. Someday we may return. We hope to find you well.”

  Ximon then had Raiza and Peter distribute small gifts – flashlights, pens, and a small 3D-printed model of Mantis. He then had the group pose together and took several pictures. “Farewell, Ruda. Live well!”

  As they departed, Raiza said, “Please send Harato to our ship and we will send her back with one last, small gift.”

  The Queen nodded as they le
ft, clearly planning to hold back her counselors for discussion.

  The crew headed to Mantis, laughing about the night’s activities, especially the play about them. They would view that video many times.

  Harato arrived at the ship only minutes after the crew did, clearly winded from running fast. Raiza brought Harato into the ship and sat with her in the bridge while Mantis took a picture. Then she presented Harato with two copies of the picture of the assembled group in basic frames. “These are for the Queen and Chieftess.” Then she handed Harato a smaller picture of the two of them in a hard-plastic frame. “And this is for you. Live well, Harato. Perhaps one day you will be the Chieftess or Queen.”

  Harato smiled and hugged Raiza. After a moment, she was embarrassed and perhaps afraid that she had been too familiar, but Raiza allayed this with a hug and a smiled. Then Harato took the gifts and ran back to town.

  Raiza turned to Ximon. “I fear for them, Ximon. The plague could come at any time.”

  “It’s possible, love, but you’ve prepared them as best you can. We’ve got to go.”

  The crew got settled and took off. Ximon headed for the gas giant to refuel. There, they had to get extra fuel in fuel bladders since there was no reported gas giant in the Suva System. It wouldn’t be enough to get them to the next system if the beacon didn’t let them jump, but it would give them more options. After that, it was to a jump point to enter the Suva System.

  Chapter Eight: Suva

  Most of the crew was busy during the jump to Suva. Elsbeth and Peter had quite a bit of preventive maintenance to do since Mantis had been out for several months already and had been impacted by the EMP bursts. Likewise, Shao had some fine-tuning to do on the sensors, which had been used extremely heavily for weeks. Raiza was working to meticulously catalogue and secure all her samples of the Ruda and the plague. She was also working on a detailed write-up on the plague, its apparent origin, and spread. Ximon, with a lot of help from Mantis and Euclidia, was writing up detailed reports on the mission so far.